Six tips to get the most out of your health insurance before the year ...

It?s hard to believe there are only two months left in 2012. How close are you accomplishing everything you hoped to accomplish this year? ?Yeah, that?s what I thought.

Well, we can?t help you improve your golf swing or organize your garage, but we do have a handful of tips that might help you make the most of your health insurance coverage before the end of the year.

Did I say a handful? Make it a bit more than that. Here are our top six tips to help you take advantage of your coverage before 2012 goes the way of the dodo.

Pay attention during open enrollment ? Open Enrollment is the time of year when employers ask workers to make coverage selections for the next year. For many, open enrollment happens in the final three months of 2012. Pay attention! Some years employers will automatically re-enrolled in the same benefit choices as the previous year. But when your employer has made significant changes to your benefit choices, you may be required to actively make a coverage selection or else lose out entirely on your employer-sponsored health benefits.

Don?t miss out on calendar-year benefits ? Some health insurance plans cover annual physicals with little or no out-of-pocket cost, and it?s nice to start the new year with a clean bill of health. Your eligibility for a dental checkup, a vision checkup, or vision hardware like contacts or a new pair of glasses, may renew every calendar year. Check with your insurance company to see if you?re still eligible for any specific services like these in 2012.

Work your deductible ? Many health insurance plans come with a deductible that resets every calendar year. If you?ve already met your deductible for 2012, or are close to it, medical care rendered before the end of the year may be covered at a lower out-of-pocket cost. Conversely, if you expect to have a lot of healthcare expenses in 2013, you may want to schedule non-emergency medical care for early next year so you can fulfill your deductible as soon as possible.

Be smart with FSA dollars ? Funds in employer-sponsored Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) don?t roll over from year to year. Check with your Human Resources department or FSA administrator to see if you have money left in your account, and make use of it before the end of December.? If you?re a heavy FSA-user, note that the maximum contribution to an FSA is decreasing to $2,500 next year. If that?s not enough for your needs next year, consider switching to an HSA-eligible health insurance plan and opening a Health Savings Account.

Fund your Health Savings Accounts to the max ? If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) and an HSA-eligible health insurance plan, maximize on your tax saving by funding it fully. As with FSAs, money can be saved in an HSA on a pre-tax or tax-deductible basis to pay for qualified medical care. Unlike FSAs, the money in your HSA is yours to keep and funds can roll over and grow year-after-year until retirement. The contribution limit for HSAs in 2012 is $3,100 for individual coverage, or $6,250 for family coverage.

Get a jump on healthy News Year?s resolutions ? Check with your health insurance company to see if they offer discounts with local or national health clubs. Ask your employer or health insurance company if they offer special money-saving incentives or discounts for achieving specific wellness milestones.

Image by Flickr user Gordon M Robertson

Source: http://blog.ehealthinsurance.com/2012/10/six-tips-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-health-insurance-before-the-year-ends/

boston bruins carl crawford mad cow disease rampart jimmy fallon jimmy fallon nick collins